This is one of those times when it all seems a bit much. Bad enought that Obama has now nominated Hagel for the position of Secretary of Defense. But then we have a Democratic lobbying group, the National Jewish Democratic Council, which has released a statement saying that it is confident that Hagel:

“will follow the president’s lead of providing unrivaled support for Israel.

In any event, any Jewish group that chooses to allude to “Obama’s unprecedented pro-Israel credentials” is either seriously out of touch with reality, or seriously into being court Jews. I find this very worrisome.

~~~~~~~~~~

Much to my bewilderment, since he claimed to support Israel, Alan Dershowitz was an Obama supporter throughout the campaign. But now he says that Obama’s appointment is a mistake:

“I think it makes it more likely that Iran will persist in its efforts to develop nuclear weapons. This will send a message to the Iranian Mullahs of softness, to nominate a man who is opposed to sanctions and who is opposed to the military option…. (Emphasis added)

“The Iranians are celebrating this appointment in Tehran, this was a great appointment for Tehran…

“I makes it more likely that Iran will actually move towards developing a nuclear program and it makes it more likely that there will have to be a military response. This is a very bad nomination for peace.”

In an interview with Breitbart today, Dershowitz said that he has been approached about possibly testifying against Hagel on the issue of Iran, and if asked is prepared to do so.

He believes this appointment was inspired by Obama’s personal relationship with Hagel and says that some within the White House itself were opposed. In fact, he says he’s been told that the head of the National Jewish Democratic Council was opposed to the nomination — which may be a clue that Greenfield was correct.

Part of the problem, said Dershowitz, is that JStreet was for the nomination and this gave Obama cover “as it often does.”

The thrust of Deshowitz’s concern here, regarding Hagel and his softness on Iran, points to the fact that this nomination is of concern for reasons that transcend Jewish issues.

Not only is Hagel soft on Iran, he has been soft more generally on terrorist organizations. Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) told CNN that Hagel said “Israel should directly negotiate with the Hamas organization – a terrorist group that lobs thousands of rockets into Israel – he also was one of 12 senators who refused to sign a letter to the European Union that Hezbollah should be designated as a terrorist organization.” (Emphasis added)

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, In a statement on Hagel’s nomination Sunday, declared that this is the “worst possible message” the United States can send to its Middle East allies.

Ed Koch, former NY mayor and long time political commentator, also gave an interview on the issue of Hagel’s nomination, which makes him decidedly unhappy. What this interview does, however, is make me feel just a tad better about Koch. He had been anti-Obama and then reversed himself and come out an Obama supporter before the election. My own question was, How could he? Well, here he tells us:

“Frankly, I thought that there would come a time when he would renege on what he conveyed on his support of Israel. It comes a little earlier than I thought it would. (Emphasis added)

“I did what I thought was warranted and intelligent. He was going to win! There was no question about it. I thought it would be helpful to have a Jewish voice there, being able to communicate.”

Well, he guessed wrong about Obama, but, apparently, was not supporting him out of strong conviction that the man would be consistently good for Israel and the Jews. And it’s clear that his voice has counted for less than nothing.

Now about the Hagel nomination he says:

“I’m sure that the Arabs are drinking orange juice and toasting Hagel’s good health.

“I believe it will encourage…the jihadists. They will say ‘ah, we are winning the battle. America is beginning to desert Israel.'”

Eric Cantor (R-VA), House Majority Leader, put out a statement about the nomination, as well:

“I am profoundly concerned and disappointed by President Obama’s nomination of former senator Chuck Hagel, to be secretary of defense….Hagel’s views and inflammatory statements about Israel are well outside the mainstream and raise well-founded doubts that he can be trusted to manage the special relationship the United States shares with our greatest Middle East ally…” (Emphasis added)

Senator Cornyn, cited above, concurs in this view, having said that:

“Chuck Hagel, if confirmed…would be the most antagonistic secretary of defense toward the state of Israel in our nation’s history.” (Emphasis added)

~~~~~~~~~~

Note that Hagel has said that the US relationship with Israel “need not and cannot be at the expense of our Arab and Muslim relationships.”

So, Hagel has been nominated and Senate Armed Service Committee chair Carl Levin (D-MI) seems ready to clear him through his committee. But the Senate still has to confirm him.

That is where you come in, my friends. Please! Contact your Senators without delay. Ask that they vote against the Hagel confirmation.

You have here numerous sources to quote from, and numerous facts to present regarding his lack of qualifications for the position. But it is best to keep the message simple. And emphasize the fact that Hagel is bad for America.

Not, I will add here, that all of this means Kerry is a great choice for secretary of state, or John Brennan for CIA director. But I’ll return to this another day.

~~~~~~~~~~

In case you haven’t heard: about a week ago, former vice president Al Gore sold the cable news network — Current TV — he co-founded seven years ago. It was purchased for $100 million by Al-Jazeera, the pan-Arabic cable news network owned by Qatar, and overseen by Sheik Ahmed bin Jassim Al Thani, a member of Qatar’s royal family.

The purchase boosted Al-Jazeera’s English language reach in the US nine-fold to about 40 million (although Time-Warner has dropped it). There is no rule against foreign ownership of a cable network. Al-Jazeera says it plans to develop something called Al-Jazeera America. This channel will be headquartered in New York and half its broadcasts will focus on US news.

And the other half? Well Gore explained in a statement that confirmed the sale:

Al-Jazeera, he said, shares Current TV’s mission “to give voice to those who are not typically heard; to speak truth to power; to provide independent and diverse points of view; and to tell the stories that no one else is telling.”

“First, al-Jazeera was originally run by Arab nationalists but these people were replaced by Islamists about four or so years ago. It is thus a radical media outlet run by people who are anti-American, anti-Christian, antisemitic, and anti-Western. In other words, it is an instrument of extremist revolutionary movements. On a number of occasions it has lent itself to promote and be used by violent terrorist groups.

“Second, while al-Jazeera is more open to dissenting views than previous state-controlled media this is misleading. It is more open in English than in Arabic but former staffers in the English-language section have spoken about how it is not a free agent but the news is slanted to please the Qatari government which owns it…So al-Jazeera is also an instrument of concealed propaganda.

“Third, when al-Jazeera does have on dissenting views it tends to follow a formula….much of the nominal openness is used to create a frenzy of hatred…

“But there’s more! Qatar, except for the (possibly soon to be overthrown) Syrian regime, is the most pro-Iran Arab government…

Rubin says al-Jazeera is not a station a former American vice president should want to associate with, and that Gore had every reason to know what he was doing.

Al-Jazeera is anti-Israel and anti-American, “and, again, Gore should know this…. the former vice-president of the United States cannot tell the difference between a free media and a state-controlled propaganda organ, or–which is worse–doesn’t care.”

“In former, sane, times, doing something like this would have finished Gore’s credibility forever. Needless to say, sanity has long since jumped out the window.

“By the way, remember that al-Jazeera is controlled by an oil-producing state whose goals include maintaining the highest possible use of petroleum, a goal that is contrary to Gore’s obsession with what he says is the threat of man-made global warming to destroy the planet in the near future.”

Frank Gaffney, Jr., President of the Center for Security Policy, says this about Gore’s sale to al-Jazeera:

“The effect will be to create vast new opportunities for our enemies to propagandize the American people, a key ingredient of their ‘civilization jihad’ against our country.

“It is hard to overstate the magnitude of this treachery.” (Emphasis added)

~~~~~~~~~

The kicker here is that Glenn Beck now says he tried last year to buy Gore’s network. The response he received from Gore’s negotiators was (paraphrased), “…our legacy is too important and there would quite frankly be too many people, too many friends that the vice president would have to explain why he’s selling to Glenn Beck.”

In the past, al-Jazeera English’s managing director spoke of a “very aggressive hostility” from the Bush administration, which had discouraged cable and satellite companies from accepting al-Jazeera. And the Obama administration now? This is most certainly just fine and dandy with them.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The anxiety I feel for the American nation right now is huge. No, it’s more than this: the America I knew is gone.

PatriotsforAmerica.ning: These mindless puppets/actors and other busy bodies want to destroy our country and constitution by working to end the important U.S. Constitution 2nd amendment < -(ALL OF THOSE LISTED BELOW NEED TO MIGRATE TO EACH COAST AND LEAVE US IN FLYOVER COUNTRY THE HELL ALONE.)
The National Rifle Association (NRA) recently released a list of gun control advocates.
According to the list, these people and companies have given money and/or support to gun control measures and/or organizations such as the Brady Act and the Clinton assault weapons ban, reports the Daily Mail.

According to the NRA, celebrities who believe in some sort of gun control in America (the most violent industrialized nation) include: Jack Nicholson, Sylvester Stallone, Dick Van Dyke, George Clooney and Lauren Bacall.

The NRA claims that these businesses support gun control in an effort to reduce deaths: National Spinal Cord Injury Association, the American Medical Association, Levi Strauss & Co., Hallmark Cards, Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance, Ben & Jerry`s and the American Association of Retired Persons.

The NRA also listed the Episcopal Church-Washington Office, Kansas City Royals baseball team, Gannet Publications, the New York Times and Motorcycle Cruiser Magazine.

Here is the complete list:

AARP
AFL-CIO
Ambulatory Pediatric Association
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Civil Liberties Union
American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing
American Medical Women`s Association
American Medical Student Association
American Medical Association
American Association for the Surgery of Trauma
American Trauma Society
American Federation of Teachers
American Association of School Administrators
American Alliance for Rights and Responsibilities
American Medical Association
American Bar Association
American Counseling Association
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for World Health
American Ethical Union
American Nurses Association
American Association of Neurological Surgeons
American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences
American Firearms Association
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
American Jewish Committee
American Trauma Society
American Psychological Association
American Jewish Congress
American Public Health Association
Americans for Democratic Action
Anti-Defamation League
Black Mental Health Alliance
B`nai B`rith
Central Conference of American Rabbis
Children`s Defense Fund
Church of the Brethren
Coalition for Peace Action
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
College Democrats of America
Committee for the Study of Handgun Misuse & World Peace
Common Cause
Congress of National Black Churches, Inc.
Congress of Neurological Surgeons
Consumer Federation of America
Council of the Great City Schools
Council of Chief State School Officers
Dehere Foundation
Disarm Educational Fund
Environmental Action Foundation
Episcopal Church-Washington Office
Florence and John Shumann Foundation
Friends Committee on National Legislation
General Federation of Women`s Clubs
George Gund Fun
Gray Panthers
H.M. Strong Foundation
Hadassah
Harris Foundation
Hechinger Foundation
Interfaith Neighbors
Int`l Ladies` Garment Workers` Union
Int`l Association of Educators for World Peace
Jewish Labor Committee
Joyce Foundation
Lauder Foundation
Lawrence Foundation
League of Women Voters of the United States*
Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Manhattan Project II
Mennonite Central Committee-Washington Office
National Safe Kids Campaign
National Association of Police Organizations
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Black Nurses` Association
National Association of Chain Drug Stores
National Network for Youth
National Assembly of National Voluntary Health & Social Welfare Organizations
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association of School Psychologists
National Association of Counties*
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Associates & Practitioners
National Association of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officers
National Education Association
National Association of Elementary School Principals*
National Association of Public Hospitals
National Coalition Against Domestic Violence
National Association of Secondary School Principals
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of Children`s Hospitals and Related Institutions
National Association of School Psychologists
National Council of La Raza
National Center to Rehabilitate Violent Youth
National Commission for Economic Conversion & Disarmament
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA
National Council of Negro Women
National Association of Community Health Centers
National People`s Action
National Education Association*
National League of Cities
National Council on Family Relations
National Council of Jewish Women
National Organization for Women
National Political Congress of Black Women
National Parks and Conservation Association
National Peace Foundation
National Urban League, Inc.
National Parent, Teachers Association*
National Urban Coalition
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
National Organization on Disability
National Spinal Cord Injury Association
NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Ortenberg Foundation
Peace Action
People for the American Way
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Police Foundation
Project on Demilitarization and Democracy
Public Citizen
SaferWorld
Society of Critical Care Medicine
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Council of the Great City Schools
The Synergetic Society
20/20 Vision
U.S. Catholic Conference, Dept. of Social Development
Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Unitarian Universalist Association
United States Catholic Conference
United Methodist Church, General Board & Church Society
United Church of Christ, Office for Church in Society*
United States Conference of Mayors
War and Peace Foundation
Women Strike for Peace
Women`s National Democratic Club
Women`s Action for New Directions (WAND)
Women`s Int`l League for Peace and Freedom
World Spiritual Assembly, Inc.
YWCA of the U.S.A.

The fact that the American people are being lied to concerning the motivation of the Islamic jihadists who attacked the U.S. diplomatic facilities in Benghazi and killed four Americans, the reason for the U.S. unpreparedness for the attack, and the governmental incompetence in responding to the attack is beyond question. However, this incompetence and mendacity is not the only incompetence and mendacity that the regime of President Obama is covering up. On November 9, 2010, a Los Angeles CBS news crew in a helicopter videotaped a flying object streaking off NW into the stratosphere leaving a contrail behind it with the exact profile of a ballistic missile after launch. The Obama regime denies that it was a missile.

Based on the location of the CBS helicopter, it is estimated that the missile launch occurred about 30-35 miles west of Los Angeles from a position in the Pacific Ocean north of Catalina Island.

Incompetence and “Spinning” Begin

Obviously this missile launch startled and alarmed the residents of Los Angeles who immediately began demanding an explanation from the U.S. Government. But the U.S. military officials were as mystified as the civilian populace.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) is working with U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) to investigate the mystery launch. They issued the following statement:

NORAD and USNORTHCOM are aware of the unexplained contrail reported off the coast of Southern California yesterday evening. At this time, we are unable to provide specific details, but we are working to determine the exact nature of this event. We can confirm that there is no threat to our nation, and from all indications this was not a launch by a foreign military. We will provide more information as it becomes available.

In reaction to this NORAD statement, USAF Brigadier General Jim Cash (retired), who had served as NORAD’s Assistant Director of Operations, issued this informed analysis of NORAD’s statement:

“NORAD’s first shot out of the barrel was “it” was not a threat to North America. That suggests to me that NORAD did in fact observe a missile launch and assessed that it was not a threat to the nation, as the trajectory was away from the mainland.

“There is an assessment process that occurs anytime NORAD observes a missile launch. Utilizing a set protocol, the team leader, who in the past was a Brig. General, assesses whether the launch is a threat to the North America. If assessed as a threat the commanding four- star General is called, who then contacts the President. This entire process must be completed in minimum time, as the President has only a short time himself to make a decision and implement his plan.

“This process is non-negotiable, and practiced so often it is a reflex.

“Now for the language they used, and why it’s significant. When they said ‘it was not a threat,’ ‘it’ means they meant a missile. Had it been a plane, meteor, or something else, they would have identified it as such; they wouldn’t have said ‘it.’

“The next statement made by the Pentagon was even more telling. As reported by the media, the Pentagon announced they were going to do a missile count to make sure ‘it’ was not one of ours. They didn’t say they were going to count planes, they said a ‘missile count.’ In my opinion that statement clearly acknowledged that ‘it’ was indeed a missile, and they were trying to figure out whose it was.”

The Pentagon Tells Americans Not To Believe Their “Lying Eyes”

Since, if it wasn’t one of ours, the logical conclusion was that it could be a foreign submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) that, in fact, would be a threat to the U.S., irrespective of the northwesterly course of the missile away from the U.S. This daring “warning missile shot across our bow” was and is a threat because of the nuclear attack danger that this decisively demonstrated foreign military capability portends for the future of American security. Consequently, the Pentagon and the Obama regime’s media flacks immediately began to scramble for an explanation to deceive the country about the peril of what such an SLBM firing so close to the U.S. shore really means, and they spun a number of improbable theories and cover stories that the missile plume was a condensation trail from a jet aircraft, or that the missile was actually an amateur rocket, or it was an optical illusion.

The Obama regime was and is desperate to prevent the public from realizing that the event was actually a foreign SLBM because of the obvious implication that a foreign power can sail up to our coastline at will and fire a city-killing nuclear warhead into the heartland of America unchallenged by U.S. defenses. And, of course, there is the further political implication that Obama’s drastic cutting of U.S. military force structure and defunding of vital national security programs is a terrible mistake in view of the strategic military threats posed by this dangerous world, including a growing Chinese SLBM force.

If the American public came to this alarming realization about Obama’s irresponsible handling of national defense and made their concern known to the Congress, it could put Obama’s out-of-control, domestic welfare spending programs in question and, therefore, in jeopardy. Hence, Obama had and has an overriding political interest in covering up the true nature of this uncontested foreign missile launch within sight of a major U.S. metropolitan center in order to continue to pour dollars borrowed from the Chinese into social welfare uninterrupted. Of course, the U.S. interest payments for this borrowed social welfare money has provided the Chinese with the extra capital to finance the annual 11 percent spending increase that the Chinese military has enjoyed for the past decade!

The following video succinctly summarizes the Obama regime’s cover-up of their dereliction in forthrightly addressing this real threat to U.S. national security and the regime’s craven mendacity in concealing from the American people the mortal danger of Obama’s ill conceived, unnecessary, politically driven military disarmament.

Military experts, including those from the authoritative British military publication, Jane’s of London, and Japanese military intelligence, all believe that it was most likely a JL-2 SLBM, with a range of 7,000 miles, launched from a Chinese Jin-class Strategic Submarine, Ballistic, Nuclear (SSBN) undersea platform. The Jin SSBN most probably departed its homeport on Hainan Island, transited the South Pacific submerged, and turned north sailing undetected into the waters off of Los Angeles. The obvious Chinese politico-military objective in launching the JL-2 was a show of strategic might. The JL-2 SLBM is one of the emerging Chinese strategic threats shown here.

Expert Opinion About The Danger

In the final analysis, whether or not Obama is guilty of criminally deceiving the American people about this serious lapse in U.S. defenses depends on accurate identification of what occurred in the skies over Los Angeles. In order to address that vital question, Fox News’ Sean Hannity interviewed retired U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Tom Mcinerney concerning his opinion.

“Sean Hannity began the interview by saying that the official statement by the Pentagon is that the object was a plane, and that he was willing to entertain that assertion.

“However, Retired Air Force Lt. General Tom Mcinerney, with no reservations stated that this object was clearly a missile saying:

” ‘Well first of all, I do not agree with the assertion Sean. And your question is, we should get a definitive answer. You’re absolutely correct. Look, this is not an airplane because of the plume, and the way you see that plume. Airplanes do not con [maneuver] at sea level or 5000 ft like that. I spent 35 yrs flying fighters, and I never saw an airplane con like that. That is a missile – it’s launched from a submarine, and you can see it go through a correction course, and then it gives a very smooth trajectory meaning that the guidance system has now kicked in, it’s going at about a 45 degrees away from you that’s why you’re not seeing a lot of vertical velocity.’

‘Sean… I’ve watched that film 10 times, I’ve watched 15 other Trident films, SM 3.. Standard missile threes, and T Lam launches…. I am absolutely certain that that is not an aircraft.’

“This statement by Lt. General Mcinerney appears to agree with the report by Wayne Madsen where he reports that missile experts say the plume was definitely from a missile, (most likely a JL-2 ICBM) and that it was probably launched from a Chinese Jin class submarine.”

Conclusion

Obama’s Democrat presidential predecessor, Lyndon B. Johnson, had big problems with a national security “credibility gap” caused by his reflexive dishonesty concerning the war in Vietnam. When Obama’s undeniable dishonesty about “Benghazi-gate” is paired with this similarly undeniable dishonesty about “missile-gate,” it appears that the American people are confronted with another LBJ-type national security “credibility gap.” As Americans we can only hope that our representatives in congress have the moral and political courage to get to the bottom of Obama’s serial dishonesty about his first and foremost constitutional responsibility to the people – scrupulous diligence in supervising the nation’s security.

Tom Snodgrass RSNCol. Thomas Snodgrass, USAF (retired), was an Intelligence Officer and an International Politico-Military Affairs Officer serving in seven foreign countries during a thirty-year military career.

Glimpse into the mind of the authoritarian/collectivist propagandist and “know your enemy” hard at work to “fundamentally transform the United States of America.”

You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. It’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustration.– Barack Hussein Obama II in 2008 and what a scornfully, willfully ignorant nation, to give him and his “Democratic” comrades votes in either election